NASAGA WEB SEMINAR FOLLOW-UP

JOLT PARTICIPANTS INTO AWARENESS AND ACTION

JOLT Participants Into Awareness and Action

Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan & Raja Thiagarajan
Jolts are interactive experiential activities that lull participants into behaving in a comfortable
way and then suddenly deliver a powerful wake-up call. Jolts force participants to re-examine
their assumptions and revise their habitual practices. A typical jolt lasts only a few minutes but
provides enough insights for a lengthy debriefing.
Let us explore a simple jolt in the form of a puzzle.
SIX LETTERS: A Sample Jolt
How well do you know U.S. Presidents? In the following list of letters, cross out SIX LETTERS
to reveal the name of a historical US President.

FISILXLLEMTOTERERS
Please don’t give up too soon.
The heart of any jolt, including this one, is the debriefing. During the debriefing, I will begin by
asking if you gave up trying to solve the problem. I will explore why some people give up when
they are not able to solve the problem immediately. I will relate this to people’s workplace and
personal behaviors. I will then explore excuses people use such as,
I live in Australia and I am not interested in U. S. history.
I am not good at solving word puzzles.
Someone will give me the solution later.
I am trying to find the learning point here. I don’t care about U. S. Presidents.
Once again, I will relate this behaviors to the workplace and personal life.
Benefits and Uses
The major advantage of using a jolt is that it packs powerful learning in brief period of time. It
startles participants and appeals directly to their emotions. It frequently requires interaction and
almost always requires introspection. By startling participants, a jolt makes them more mindful
of their behavior patterns.
Use jolts to encourage self awareness. For example, use this tool to help participants examine
their stereotypes, prejudices, and assumptions as a part of a training sessions on diversity, sexual
harassment, change management, customer focus, or creative problem solving. Begin the
training session with a jolt as an icebreaker to capture participants' attention. Treat the rest of the
training session as an extended debriefing discussion. Schedule a jolt as a segue between one
training module and the next. Use a jolt to keep participants awake and energized after a lunch
break. Use a jolt as a final activity to remind participants that in spite of everything they learned,

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they can still revert to their habitual behavior patterns. There is a difference between
intellectually knowing what to do and emotionally being able to do it.
Proceed with Caution
In spite of their apparent simplicity, jolts can be tricky to facilitate. Here are some caveats about
their use:
A question of trust. Most jolts incorporate an element of entrapment. Participants will complain
that you "made them do inappropriate things." Because a jolt may require you to withhold
information or to encourage people to make invalid assumptions, some participants feel betrayed.
Be sure that you have earned enough trust before using a jolt.
Emotional outbursts. Some jolts may produce intense emotional distress because people don’t
want their dysfunctional behavior patterns to be revealed. If you are unsure about your ability to
handle these reactions, try something less intense with participants in a blissful state of denial. Or
conduct the session with a co-facilitator who has more experience in handling emotional
outbursts.
Political correctness. Some jolts may elicit behaviors that may later be blown out of proportion
into major transgressions. Be sure to model and encourage high levels of confidentiality and non-
judgmental behavior. Establish a ground rule that anything that takes place inside the training
room will stay there.
What is the point? Be sure to select a jolt that is relevant to a specific training objective. Clearly
explain the connection between the jolt and job-relevant behaviors during debriefing. Some
facilitators use irrelevant jolts because of their curiosity about how much they can rattle the cage
or how far they can push the envelope. This is an abuse of participants’ trust. Make sure you are
not one of these facilitators.
Things getting out of hand. Two important facilitation skills in using a jolt is knowing when to
stop and being able to abandon the activity in the middle. In using a jolt, continuously compare
the negative feelings it produces with the positive learning outcomes. Training folklore is replete
with anecdotes about damage done to people who have participated in ethnic-discrimination
simulations and prison-warden role-plays. Remember that you are not conducting a sociology
experience but merely making a learning point.
Hit and run. Because jolts are of short duration, there is a temptation to squeeze them into your
crowded training session. Remember that the debrief is as important--if not more important--than
conducting the jolt. Be sure to set aside plenty of time for a discussion period after the jolt.
During the debriefing, spend sufficient time to elicit and listen to statements of feelings from
participants.
Types of Jolts
I classify jolts into entrapment and enlightenment activities. The first category involves enticing
participants into their habitual behavior patterns and pointing out more effective alternatives. The
second category involves helping participants discover important principles. You can also
classify jolts according to whether they are primarily a one-person, two-person, or group activity.
SIX LETTERS, for example, is an entrapment activity for one person. Even if I distributed
copies of SIX LETTERS to 50 participants in a room and asked them to solve the puzzle, it
would still be a one-person jolt because there is no interaction among participants.

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Two-person jolts are used to explore cooperative and competitive behaviors. Here is a jolt called
NEWTON that I borrowed from my friends Deidre Lakein and Alan Schneider. (The name is an
allusion to Newton’s third law of motion which proclaims that for every action there is an equal
and opposite reaction.)
NEWTON
Here’s how you conduct NEWTON: Ask participants to pair up and stand facing each other. Ask
them to plant their feet firmly on the ground, raise both their hands, and place them palm to
palm. Now tell the participants that they win if they can make the other person move his or her
feet--within 30 seconds. Blow a whistle and start a timer. Most participants will use brute force
to push each other. A few martial-arts practitioners may suddenly stop pushing and let the other
person's momentum topple them forward.
After a suitable pause, blow the whistle, stop the activity, and compare different strategies used
by participants. Ask for a volunteer for a quick demonstration. Select someone of the other
gender. Assume the initial face-to-face, palm-to-palm position. Whisper to the other person,
"Let's dance!" Hum a lilting tune and move your feet, inviting the other person to follow you.
Politely listen as participants yell that you cheated. Point out that you merely asked them to make
the other person move his or her feet within 30 seconds. There was no prohibition against
moving your own feet. Continue with the debriefing, bringing out learning points related to
making assumptions, win-win solutions, modeling appropriate behaviors, solving conflicts, and
the futility of meeting force with force.
CHATTER
Here is an enlightenment jolt for groups. I use this activity to explore cultural differences.
Each player gets an "etiquette" card with a message like one of these:
It is impolite to stand aloof, so stand close to the others until you touch them. If someone
backs off, keep moving closer.
It is impolite to crowd people, so maintain your distance. Stand away so that there is at
least an arm's length between you and the nearest person. If anyone gets too close to you,
back off until you have achieved the required distance.
Use a lot of analogies and metaphors in your conversation. Avoid direct statements.
The etiquette messages are related to different types of diversities, and they frequently contradict
each other. Some participants get blank etiquette cards.
Ask participants to pretend that they are at a cocktail party. Urge them to get together in groups
of five and discuss any topic of their choice. During the conversation, participants should behave
according to their etiquette card, without revealing the message given to them. Participants with
blank cards should behave according to their personal preferences.
After 3 minutes, blow a whistle. Ask people in each group to point to the person who behaved in
the most bizarre fashion, the most rude fashion, the most irritating fashion, the most alien
fashion, and the most comical fashion. Point out that all these behaviors are acceptable (and even
preferred) in some group or another. During the debrief, bring out the truth of “Different strokes
for different folks.” Also elicit the learning points that one person's politeness is another person's
boorishness and that we all feel uncomfortable behaving outside our cultural norms.

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It’s Simpler than You Think!
At the beginning of this article, we used a puzzle to illustrate a jolt activity. To prevent you from
giving up too soon, I did not tell you where to find the solution.
Here’s the solution: Literally cross out SIX LETTERS to get Fillmore.

FISILXLLEMTOTERERS
You probably know that Millard Fillmore was the 13th president of the United States, from 1850
to 1853. He was Zachary Taylor’s vice president and when Taylor died in 1850, he suddenly
became the president.
So what’s the point? Sometimes we are too smart for our own good. Instead of following
directions literally, we complicate things unnecessarily.

Here’s Another Jolt!

Put a check mark in front of the patient you would least enjoy taking care of.
______ Patient B. R.
B. R. is kind and appreciative. She cannot talk too much, but is otherwise communicative. She is
friendly, fearless, and inquisitive. She looks good and is relatively self-sufficient. She asks about
the nurse's well-being and sleeps through the night.
______ Patient S. T.
S. T. is grouchy, and something of a hypochondriac. He is scraggly-looking. He needs help
walking, but can take care of himself when he reaches his destination. He sleeps, but not a lot.
______ Patient D. K.
D. K. is self-centered. He cries a lot, and can’t walk or talk. He is incontinent and can't feed
himself. He is bald, wrinkly, and cranky. He wakes up at all hours of the night.

(Secret note to the facilitator: When I use this as an online jolt, I follow up by showing the
pictures of the three patients. For the first two patients I show pictures of old people. For the last
patient, I show a picture of a 6-month old baby. Debriefing focuses on assumption we make and
the importance of a hopeful future in contrast to hopeless future.)

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DEBRIEFING THROUGH JOURNAL WRITING
Here are some advantages of the written approach to debriefing:
?? It permits participants to reflect on their personal reactions without being distracted by
argumentative, defensive, or self-glorifying conversations.
?? It is better suited for introverted individuals who don’t want to reveal their feelings and for
members of reticent cultures that frown upon self-disclosure.
?? It protects the confidentiality of participants’ thoughts and opinions.
?? It better fits each participant’s personal pace and schedule.
You can set aside some time immediately after the experiential exercise for this written
debriefing or you can recommend that participants write their journals sometime later at their
own leisure. Here are three different approaches to debriefing through journal writing:
Ask an open-ended question. Simply ask participants to write a page or two of a personal
journal reflecting their behaviors, reactions, and insights related to the experiential exercise.
Emphasize that this personal journal is for each participant’s eyes only.
Provide a list of concepts. To structure the journal-writing activity little more tightly, distribute
a list of concepts to participants. For example, after conducting the jolt NEW ANAGRAMS, you
may use this list: assumptions, collaboration, alternative strategies, rewards and prizes, thinking
outside the box, problem solving, and following directions. Suggest that the participants’ journal
entry incorporate these concepts.
Use a questionnaire. Another way to structure the journal-writing activity is to distribute a
questionnaire to participants. Here is a sample questionnaire based on my six-step model for
debriefing:
1. How do you feel? How do you feel about the experiential exercise? What is your
reaction to the process and its final outcome?
2. What happened? What important things happened during the exercise?
3. What did you learn? What did you learn from the exercise? What insights did you gain
about other people's behavior? About your own behavior?
4. How does it relate? How does the exercise relate to real-world events?
5. What if …? In what different ways could you modify this activity? What would happen
as a result of these changes?
6. What next? If we were to conduct this exercise all over again, how would you behave
differently? How would you behave differently in your workplace?
Sharing Insights
Here is a strategy that I use to preserve participants' anonymity while giving an opportunity to
find out what the others are thinking: I invite participants to drop an anonymous photocopy of
their journal in a box. I collect the contributions, edit out any identifying information, and
prepare a set of interesting excerpts. I distribute copies of this document to all participants.

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 WIN A FABULOUS PRIZE!
The first person to solve this puzzle will win a book of simulation games ($85 value).
Given below is a list of 10 pairs of words, each beginning with the word NEW.
Solve the puzzle by rearranging the letters in each pair of words to spell one word.

1. NEW + BEET ____________

2. NEW + CLOD ____________
3. NEW + DEER ____________
4. NEW + DOOR ____________
5. NEW + JAIL ____________
6. NEW + LIDS ____________
7. NEW + RODS ____________
8. NEW + SETS ____________
9. NEW + SITS ____________
10. NEW + SOAP ____________

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NEW ANAGRAMS Debriefing Questions
Phase 1: How Do You Feel?
1. How do you feel about the activity?
2. How do you feel about the results of the activity?
3. How do you feel about the nature of the activity?
4. How do you feel about the length of the activity?
5. How do you feel about the pace of the activity?
6. If you won, how do you feel about winning this activity?
7. If you did not win, how do you feel about not winning this activity?
8. If you did not win, how do you feel about the winners?
9. How do you feel about the skills needed for successfully participating in the activity?
10. How do you feel about the level of competition in the activity?
11. Which part of the activity did you enjoy the most?
12. Which part of the activity did you dislike the most?
13. How did you feel at the beginning of the activity?
14. How did you feel at the end of the activity?
15. How do you feel about the people who solved the anagrams quickly?
16. How do you feel about the people who had lots of trouble solving the anagrams?
17. How do you feel about the prizes awarded to the winners?
18. How do you feel about your ability to solve anagrams?
19. How did you feel when you solved the first anagram?
20. How did you feel when you were stumped by an anagram?
21. How did you feel about trying to solve the fourth anagram (NEW + DOOR)?
22. How did you feel when the solution for the fourth anagram was announced?
23. How did you feel when the facilitator started announcing the solutions?
24. How do you feel about assuming that this was a competitive activity?
25. How do you feel about making an assumption about the nature of the solution?
26. How do you feel about your inability to think outside the box?
27. How do you feel about the facilitator?
Phase 2: What Happened?
28. What happened at the beginning of the activity?
29. What happened when you tried to solve the first anagram?
30. Did anybody try to collaborate with you?

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31. Why did you collaborate with other participants? Or why did you decide not to collaborate with other
participants?
32. What strategy did you use for solving the anagrams?
33. What was the most important moment in this activity?
34. What was the most frustrating moment in this activity?
35. Did you feel like giving up in the middle of the activity? Why?
36. Have you solved similar puzzles before? Did your previous experience help you?
37. Which anagrams did you solve easily?
38. Which anagrams gave you the most difficulty?
Phase 3: What Did You Learn?
39. What did you learn from this activity?
40. What did you learn about assumptions people make?
41. What did you learn about following instructions?
42. What insights did you get about yourself by participating in this activity?
43. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “Sometimes we are too smart for our own good.”?
44. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “Rewards and prizes discourage cooperation.”?
45. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “There is an advantage to taking other people’s
statements literally.”?
46. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “We impose unnecessary constraints on ourselves”?
47. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “When we are successful, we become complacent.”?
48. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “Early success makes you ignore alternative
strategies.”?
49. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “The harder we try, the tougher the problem
becomes.”?
50. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “When we are in a hurry, we ignore alternative
approaches.”?
51. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “The presence of other people reduces our ability to
concentrate.”?
52. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “When we are stumped by a problem, we should try
something else.”?
53. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “Different people have different skills.”?
54. How does this activity illustrate the principle, “Different people enjoy different activities.”?
Phase 4: How Does This Relate to the Real World?
55. In what ways is your behavior in this activity similar to your behavior in the workplace?
56. What real-world task is represented by solving the anagrams?
57. In this activity you made assumptions about competing with others. When have you made similar
assumptions in your workplace?

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58. In this activity, the same type of task required two different approaches. Has something similar to this
ever happened to you?
59. Who does the facilitator in this activity remind you of?
Phase 5: What If--?
60. What if the facilitator asked you to form teams to solve the puzzle? How would this have changed
your behavior?
61. What if there were no prizes awarded for the first three players? How would this have changed your
behavior?
62. What if there were a $1000 cash prize for the first person to solve the puzzle? How would this have
changed your behavior?
63. What if you were a second-language speaker with a limited English vocabulary? How would this
have changed your behavior?
64. What if you had a week to solve the anagrams? How would this have changed your behavior?
65. What if there were a time limit of 3 minutes? How would this have changed your behavior?
66. What if there were only three participants involved in this activity? How would this have changed
your behavior?
67. What if there were no correct solution to one of these anagrams? How would this have changed your
behavior?
Phase 6: What Next?
68. What advice would you give to someone who is about to participate in this activity?
69. Knowing what you know now, how would you behave differently if you were to participate in a
similar activity?
70. Based on the insights from this activity, how would you change some of your behaviors?

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DOUBLE TALK
Participants at a training session are often preoccupied with other important things in their life.
Here’s a simple little jolt to wake them up.
Ask participants to pair themselves up. In each pair, ask the taller participant to assume the role
of a listener and the other participant to become the IV.
Explain that the IV is to sit close to the listener and to whisper a string of disconnected
distractions that the person is likely to be thinking about.
Recommend that the IV use topics that are highly interesting (Should I buy a lottery ticket?) or
disturbing (What if they decide to rightsize again?) or bothersome (Did I turn the stove off this
morning?) or intriguing (What exactly does Sheila see in him?) or guilt-provoking (I forgot
Doug’s birthday again. I am an idiot!). Also suggest that the IV should use first-person singular
and run-on sentences in a stream-of-consciousness mode.
Ask the IVs to ignore you and to begin whispering. Simultaneously, give a short fact-filled
presentation on some dry topic. Do this for 2 to 3 minutes.
Stop your presentation. Thank the IVs for their imaginative contributions and ask them to stop
whispering. Ask the listeners the jot down some of the words, ideas, and topics mentioned by the
IV. Pause for a minute.
Ask a series of short-answer questions based on the content of your presentation. Ask all
participants (both listeners and whisperers) to decide whether or not they know the answer.
Point out that everyone’s listening performance was less than perfect. Both listeners and
whisperers missed some of the important points that you made.
Explain that IV stands for the Inner Voice and the whispers simulate preoccupied self-talk.
Conduct a quick debrief to elicit the point that talking to yourself and listening to yourself reduce
learning effectiveness.
If time permits, repeat the activity with the other player as the IV. Encourage the listeners to tune
out the whispers and to focus on your presentation.
If you want to be more dramatic, you can assign two IVs (one for each ear) to each listener.

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BY THE NUMBERS
Quick, look at these sets of three numbers:
A. 3 – 6 - 7
B. 14 – 28 - 29
C. 5 – 10 - 11
D. 2 – 4 - 5
Review these sets to discover the pattern among the three numbers in each set.
Now write (or say) a few more sets of three numbers that follow the same pattern.
This discovery activity is the basis for the following quick jolt. I frequently use this jolt as a 99-
seconds demonstration of an interactive exercise.
(And before you read further, let me apologize to you. You are probably in for a rude
awakening.)
PURPOSE
To explores causes and consequences of stereotyping.
PARTICIPANTS
Any number, “playing” in a parallel fashion
TIME
5 – 10 minutes
FLOW
Brief the players. Tell them that you are going to present a few sets of three numbers. Ask them
to listen carefully and discover the pattern among the three numbers in each set. Present the four
sample sets listed above.
Invite participation. Most players will have a knowing grin and some may blurt out their
explanation of the relationship among the numbers. However, ask everyone to listen carefully to
your instructions. Tell them to supply you with test sets by yelling out three numbers. Ask the
players to wait until you have said "Yes" or "No" to each test set before offering the next one.
Provide feedback. Players will give you test sets that fit this pattern: n, 2n, 2n+1 (any number,
twice that number, one more than twice the original number). Listen to each set and say "Yes" to
confirm that it follows the pattern.
Nag the players. After verifying a few test sets, ask the players how they are feeling. Comment
on the smug look on most faces. Present the following information, in your own words:
Many of you are falling into the trap of hasty generalization. You figured out the formula that
links the numbers. You immediately starting proving your hypothesis by offering test sets that fit
the formula. You feel happy when your test set gets a "Yes". You offer more test sets of the same
type and enjoy feeling smart and superior. They are very careful not to present any silly test set
because if you get a "No" everyone will think that you are stupid. You yourself will feel stupid.

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A true scientist, however, keeps an open mind. She attempts to disprove her hypothesis. So how
about if you try some test sets designed to get a “No" from me.
Give feedback. Here’s where the jolt comes: Contrary to your belief, the pattern I was using is a
set of any three whole numbers in ascending order. According to this formula, these test sets will
receive "Yes":
7-9-14
19-24-25
10-20-2000
8-6,000,000-7,000,000,000
And these test sets will receive "No":
5-9-8
9-8-2001
98-15-3
Listen to new test sets and answer "Yes" or "No" according to whether they contain three whole
numbers in ascending order.
Return to your nagging. Whenever someone's test set receives a "No", ask the person how she
feels. Explain that most people feel depressed when their hypothesis is rejected. Actually, a "No"
provides valuable information, sometimes more valuable than a "Yes".
Speed up the process. Explain that you are going to try out some more test sets yourself. Use
crazy sets of numbers (such as 5 - 78 – 2,365,897) and give a resounding "Yes" to each.
Explain the pattern. Ask players to tell you the formula or the pattern that you are using.
Confirm the formula of any three whole numbers in ascending sequence.
Relate the experience to the process of stereotyping. Explain that this simple activity
illustrates the human tendency to stereotype things, including people from other cultures. That's
why they frequently all look alike. Just because we meet a small sample of people from a
different culture who share a few common characteristics, we assume that everyone in that
culture will share the same characteristics. We strengthen this narrow opinion by selectively
looking for the same characteristic among new members of the culture. We don't pay attention to
other unique characteristics that would challenge our hypothesis. We actually feel upset if
someone does not conform to our stereotypical perception.
Encourage players to share real-world experiences. Ask for examples of being surprised by
the unexpected behaviors of people from other cultures. Conclude the session by encouraging
participants to try to disprove their own assumptions and hypotheses.

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SIX CHUNKS, THREE WORDS
Imagine these three-letter combinations are printed on six different tiles:

ACT

FAT

HER

NIH

NOI

WIT
Visualize the tiles. Move them around.

Here’s the challenge: Can you rearrange these six tiles to spell three English words that can be
found in any unabridged dictionary?
Each of the words should be six-letter words.

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Ears for Smiley
Ask the participants to pair up. In each pair, one participant takes on the role of a manager and
the other, an employee. Distribute a blank sheet of paper to each employee.
Using your own words, give the following instructions:
Managers, your task is to make sure that the employee follows my instructions.
Employees, your task is to draw a picture of a Smiley. Please don’t begin until I complete all my
instructions. Your Smiley should have a circular face, two dots for the eyes, and a curved line for
a smiling mouth.
One important constraint is that you should draw the picture with your eyes closed. Please close
your eyes now and keep them closed. Managers, make sure that the employees keep their eyes
closed throughout this activity.
Employees, get started. You have 30 seconds to draw your Smiley.
Pause while the employees complete the task. Blow a whistle and ask the employees to stop.
Continue with these instructions:
Employees, please keep your eyes closed. I have some more instructions for you.
Please transfer your pen or pencil to your other hand.
I'd like you to add a pair of ears to your Smiley. Don't open your eyes. Transfer your pen or
pencil back to your preferred hand and draw the two ears. Please begin now.
Wait for the employees to complete the task. Blow the whistle.
You may all open your eyes now. Look at your Smiley. Hold up your picture so the others can see
it.
Most Smileys are likely to have misplaced ears. Wait while the participants laugh at their efforts.
The main learning point of this jolt is that people should ask for guidance and feedback. Drive
home this point with questions like these:
Most of us know the importance of asking for feedback. How many of you asked your manager to
give you feedback while you were drawing your Smiley?
Congratulate any employees who asked for feedback. Ask them to hold up their Smileys.
Continue with the debriefing, borrowing from this suggested script:
Some of you may feel that you must not ask a manager for feedback. You should ask for feedback
from everybody: your manager, your subordinate, your coworker, your significant other, your
children, your customers, your friends, and your enemies. You should ask for feedback at all
times. You should be constantly asking yourself, “Who can I ask for feedback right now?”
When should you ask for feedback? Should you have drawn the ears and then ask your manager
if you had placed them in the appropriate locations? Or should you have pointed to some
location and asked your manager whether it is an appropriate location for the right ear?
An important learning point in this activity is to ask for feedback before it is too late. Also, ask
for continuous feedback as needed.

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